What does "a better world is possible" mean to me today?

So, as I started this blog, and in turn started the #100Days writing challenge, I decided that there would be days where I didn't know what to write. So I went on to ChatGPT and asked it to spit out 365 blog prompts based on what it knew about me. If I open up Standard Notes at 9 PM and suddenly realize that I have no idea what I'm going to write about-ta da! Blog prompts.

So, the first blog prompt for today was a dud. "What do you want people to feel when they read your writing?" I want people to feel like they didn't just waste their time and energy. Next.

Which brings us to the prompt that is the title of today's entry. What does "a better world is possible" mean to me today?

Today, and every day, it means that the way we're living now doesn't have to be this shitty.

Now, let me preface this by saying that I have a very good life. In fact, I am doing better these days than pretty much ever in my entire life. I'm housed, my mental health is relatively stable, my physical health is improving, I have purpose in my life, I have people that think I'm pretty cool (and I think they're pretty cool, too). But the problem is that I am built for crisis times. I'm not someone who thrives when the world is doing well. No, I am someone who was built for Mad Max times.

I'm only here for the gas.

So, this should raise some flags for people. Think of me as an inverse-measure of the health of society. If society is rocking, I am probably doing very poorly. And since I'm doing very well... well, *gestures vaguely at everything*...

But seriously--we could have a world where people's needs are met. Not just billionaires and centimillionaires, but everyone's needs. Everyone everywhere. Like, things do not have to be a death race to appease the death cult. (Credit to the sociologist and artist Jen Myhre for the term "death cult").

Take a second after you read this to close your eyes, take some deep breaths, and imagine the world you want to live in. And then start living like you would in that world. Like, I've become a much kinder and patient person once I realized I wanted to live in a world where people are kind and patient. It's a neat trick. Give it a shot.

Or we could stick with, y'know, *gestures vaguely at everything again*.